1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable communication apparatus including a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a HHP (Hand-Held PC), a cellular telephone, etc., and more specifically to a portable communication apparatus with a data-inputting expansion for convenient data-inputting operation, and in particular, to a PDA with a data-inputting expansion.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, “a portable communication apparatus” means an apparatus carried by a user and used for performing wireless communication with another person. Such portable communication apparatuses are classified into various types by appearance: for example, into bar-type apparatuses, flip-type apparatuses and folder-type apparatuses. The bar-type apparatus has a single bar-type housing; the flip-type apparatus comprises a bar-type housing and a flip or a cover connected to the housing rotatably by a hinge mechanism; and the folder-type apparatus comprises a single housing and a folder capable of being folded through a rotatable connection to the housing by a hinge mechanism.
In addition, portable communication apparatuses can also be classified into neck wearable-type apparatuses and wrist wearable-type apparatuses in view of their positions worn on human body or the way they are worn. The neck wearable-type apparatus is carried by wearing the terminal around a user's neck using a cord, and the wrist wearable-type apparatus is carried on a user's wrist.
Furthermore, conventional portable communication apparatuses may also be classified into rotation-type apparatuses and sliding-type apparatuses according to the way they are opened and closed. The rotation-type apparatus is opened and closed by the rotation of its two housings facing each other and connected together, and the sliding-type apparatus is opened and closed when one of its two housings slides in a longitudinal direction while facing the other. The above-mentioned portable communication apparatuses, classified by a variety of standards, will be easily understood by those skilled in the art.
Meanwhile, the conventional portable communication apparatuses described above comprise antenna devices for transmitting/receiving signals, data-inputting/outputting devices, and optional data transmitting/receiving devices. Of course, keypads consisting of a number of keys, for data-inputting mainly through a finger press operation, are well-known and widely used as data-inputting devices. Touch pads and touch screens are also available. In addition, LCDs are generally used as data outputting devices.
Keypads, commonly used for data-inputting, are composed of an array of a number of keys. The keys reveal their upper surfaces in a way that allows users to input data through a finger press operation as desired. Furthermore, conventional portable communication apparatuses may comprise a camera lens as a photographing means which enables users to perform visual communication with another person or to photograph desired subjects.
However, the desire for information is on an increasing trend, and as a matter of fact, it is particularly inconvenient to communicate with conventional portable terminals in an internet environment or multimedia environment. Specifically, in the case of PDAs used for personal data management, the actual number of keys mounted as a data-inputting means is limited, since the minimization of the size of the body of the terminal is an important issue. Therefore, conventional portable communication apparatuses have an economic disadvantage in that additional data-inputting devices must be used by mounting them to the body of the apparatus through interfacing connectors.